James Churbuck was a gentle and introverted soul and a friend to many.
He grew up in Wayne, Michigan.
He took a tour of Vietnam with the United States Army. He returned alive but was haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—and did not want to talk about his wartime experiences. Who could blame him?
James studied and completed two years at Grand Valley State College (now University) at Allendale, Michigan.
He taught English, Spanish, and physical education classes, and coached a basketball team, as a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member at St. Mary's School, near the mouth of the Andreafsky River in St. Mary's (Negeqliq), Alaska.
On a moose hunting trip, to bring home meat for the mission school students and teachers, James Churbuck drowned in the Yukon River in October of 1971, along with several other men—including local Yupik Eskimos and Brother Huck, a Jesuit—when their boat was believed to have run into ice and a sandbar near the confluence of the Andreafsky River with the mighty Yukon River—and capsized.
The lower Yukon River is a couple of miles wide, with sandbars, islands and sloughs. The river water was mighty chilly in October, near freezing. Some bodies were recovered. A lifesaver vest and some gear were found floating or snagged.
Winter season, ice and snow arrived and the river was frozen over.
The body of James Churbuck was never found. In the spring, His remains were swept down the Yukon River out into the Bering Sea, never to be seen again.
The St. Mary's Mission School Jesuit Fathers and local Alaskan authorities held an inquest to determine what happened, and they wrote a report.
His mother, Hedy Churbuck, wrote a book about her only son, entitled, "He lived, he loved, he shared: A bereaved mother tells her story." The book was published by Vantage Press (1982) (ISBN-10: 0533049490; ISBN-13: 978-0533049493).
He grew up in Wayne, Michigan.
He took a tour of Vietnam with the United States Army. He returned alive but was haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—and did not want to talk about his wartime experiences. Who could blame him?
James studied and completed two years at Grand Valley State College (now University) at Allendale, Michigan.
He taught English, Spanish, and physical education classes, and coached a basketball team, as a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member at St. Mary's School, near the mouth of the Andreafsky River in St. Mary's (Negeqliq), Alaska.
On a moose hunting trip, to bring home meat for the mission school students and teachers, James Churbuck drowned in the Yukon River in October of 1971, along with several other men—including local Yupik Eskimos and Brother Huck, a Jesuit—when their boat was believed to have run into ice and a sandbar near the confluence of the Andreafsky River with the mighty Yukon River—and capsized.
The lower Yukon River is a couple of miles wide, with sandbars, islands and sloughs. The river water was mighty chilly in October, near freezing. Some bodies were recovered. A lifesaver vest and some gear were found floating or snagged.
Winter season, ice and snow arrived and the river was frozen over.
The body of James Churbuck was never found. In the spring, His remains were swept down the Yukon River out into the Bering Sea, never to be seen again.
The St. Mary's Mission School Jesuit Fathers and local Alaskan authorities held an inquest to determine what happened, and they wrote a report.
His mother, Hedy Churbuck, wrote a book about her only son, entitled, "He lived, he loved, he shared: A bereaved mother tells her story." The book was published by Vantage Press (1982) (ISBN-10: 0533049490; ISBN-13: 978-0533049493).
James Churbuck was a gentle and introverted soul and a friend to many.
He grew up in Wayne, Michigan.
He took a tour of Vietnam with the United States Army. He returned alive but was haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—and did not want to talk about his wartime experiences. Who could blame him?
James studied and completed two years at Grand Valley State College (now University) at Allendale, Michigan.
He taught English, Spanish, and physical education classes, and coached a basketball team, as a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member at St. Mary's School, near the mouth of the Andreafsky River in St. Mary's (Negeqliq), Alaska.
On a moose hunting trip, to bring home meat for the mission school students and teachers, James Churbuck drowned in the Yukon River in October of 1971, along with several other men—including local Yupik Eskimos and Brother Huck, a Jesuit—when their boat was believed to have run into ice and a sandbar near the confluence of the Andreafsky River with the mighty Yukon River—and capsized.
The lower Yukon River is a couple of miles wide, with sandbars, islands and sloughs. The river water was mighty chilly in October, near freezing. Some bodies were recovered. A lifesaver vest and some gear were found floating or snagged.
Winter season, ice and snow arrived and the river was frozen over.
The body of James Churbuck was never found. In the spring, His remains were swept down the Yukon River out into the Bering Sea, never to be seen again.
The St. Mary's Mission School Jesuit Fathers and local Alaskan authorities held an inquest to determine what happened, and they wrote a report.
His mother, Hedy Churbuck, wrote a book about her only son, entitled, "He lived, he loved, he shared: A bereaved mother tells her story." The book was published by Vantage Press (1982) (ISBN-10: 0533049490; ISBN-13: 978-0533049493).
He grew up in Wayne, Michigan.
He took a tour of Vietnam with the United States Army. He returned alive but was haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—and did not want to talk about his wartime experiences. Who could blame him?
James studied and completed two years at Grand Valley State College (now University) at Allendale, Michigan.
He taught English, Spanish, and physical education classes, and coached a basketball team, as a Jesuit Volunteer Corps member at St. Mary's School, near the mouth of the Andreafsky River in St. Mary's (Negeqliq), Alaska.
On a moose hunting trip, to bring home meat for the mission school students and teachers, James Churbuck drowned in the Yukon River in October of 1971, along with several other men—including local Yupik Eskimos and Brother Huck, a Jesuit—when their boat was believed to have run into ice and a sandbar near the confluence of the Andreafsky River with the mighty Yukon River—and capsized.
The lower Yukon River is a couple of miles wide, with sandbars, islands and sloughs. The river water was mighty chilly in October, near freezing. Some bodies were recovered. A lifesaver vest and some gear were found floating or snagged.
Winter season, ice and snow arrived and the river was frozen over.
The body of James Churbuck was never found. In the spring, His remains were swept down the Yukon River out into the Bering Sea, never to be seen again.
The St. Mary's Mission School Jesuit Fathers and local Alaskan authorities held an inquest to determine what happened, and they wrote a report.
His mother, Hedy Churbuck, wrote a book about her only son, entitled, "He lived, he loved, he shared: A bereaved mother tells her story." The book was published by Vantage Press (1982) (ISBN-10: 0533049490; ISBN-13: 978-0533049493).
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